Childhood and six-year-old children: challenges of the transitions in early childhood education and in Fundamental education

Abstract

The insertion of six-year-olds into fundamental education has been raising questions both to early childhood education and to fundamental education, especially in what concerns the pedagogical policies and practices and their suitability to the children's age. The objective of the present text is to analyze and discuss some of the issues that permeate these stages of education, on the basis of a research carried out in crèches, early childhood education schools, and elementary schools. The study of practices applied to children in early childhood education made it possible to problematize the work with sixyear-olds in fundamental education. Instead of just seeing the two stages in dichotomic terms, one should - under the viewpoint proposed here - think beyond that, reflecting about the transitions and challenges in the organization of education systems, and in terms of public policies and management, of proposals for curriculum and for the training of teachers and of all other professionals involved. To such end, the first section of the text analyzes the policies for basic education within the context of the expansion of compulsory schooling, and the challenges of working with six-year-olds. The next section introduces and problematizes the research with respect to the reading and writing practices observed. The third section suggests priorities for the work with reading and writing in early childhood education and in the initial years of fundamental education, the formation and the transitions involved.